Loucas Giorkas feat. Stereo Mike – "Watch My Dance" for Greece

Tonight, the Greek National final was held (odd that it was a Wednesday, as opposed to a weekend event…). After a six song national final (all sung by artists who were recent X-Factor or Greek Idol participants), a combined jury and televote came up with a somewhat unexpected winner: Loucas Giorkas and Stereo Mike’s “Watch My Dance”, a song blending a Greek ballad and English rap.

So, if you mixed this year’s Cypriot entry with a slower version of Finland’s “Lose Control” from 2009, I kind of imagine that it would sound a bit like this. If we just had Loucas or Stereo Mike up there on their own, I think that this could have been a somewhat stronger entry. But by trying to blend the two together, it feels sort of like somebody sewing a quilt made of silk and burlap. It just doesn’t sit well with me yet. (That being said, the Cyprus-born Giorkas, the winner of the Greek “X-Factor” is a pleasure to watch, to say the least!)

In all fairness, however, I hated “OPA!” the first few times I heard it last year, but it grew on me after a few listens (and after the song had been refined and remastered for Eurovision audiences). I hope that “Watch My Dance” follows that pattern. It’s Greece, so they’re just about a lock to qualify for the Final, but I think their Cypriot brothers have the stronger song, judging after the first few listens. At this point, I would be more than happy to “Watch My Dance”…but I’m not sure if I’m so psyched to listen to it in its current state.

Come on, Greeks! Make like Ukraine and have a scandal! One that throws this entry's participation into question! Only a scandal can save us now!Or maybe you can switch entries with Cyprus? Sam is right; the Cypriot entry is stronger.Greece? You are so much better than this. You are the land of Anna Vissi and Elena Paparizou! I am not saying you need to send them again, though that would be great. You are the land of the goddess we call Alkistis Protopsalti.Why Alkistis Protopsalti is not world-famous, I will never know. It is simply not enough to say "she sings really well" or "she has a nice voice". She is a superlative songstress who has had a career for over 30 years, by now. There are songs that only Alkistis Protopsalti can pull off. Certain songs of hers have a vastness about them that her voice fills out so beautifully and effortlessly, as in Pes Mou Thalassa, H Kataigida, Moro, and Trava Skandali. Her voice also contains a timeless air about it, attributable to younger undertones mixed with older undertones, which made it hard for me to identify her age when I first heard her crystalline voice (she is in her early fifties).She has the talent, but does she have the convincing repertoire of a seasoned songstress? If she just had an amazing voice without many good songs upon which to implement it, I would find her talents underutilized and leave it at that. That is hardly an issue; as I said earlier, she has had a 30-year-long career and her repertoire is nothing to scoff at, to say the least.If you want a clear-cut example of her vocal prowess and technique, I would recommend checking out H Agapi Pou Paei, in which the man's voice gives the sensation that you are sinking to the bottom of the ocean, and the voice of Protopsalti cuts through it all, snatches you up like a vicious bird and takes you to heaven.And why do her cover songs wind up being so much better than the originals?I do not mean to turn this into a eulogy of an artist of whom you have never heard; I was just afraid you may have been doubting that Greece has anything better to offer than this poorly executed entry (with rap? Seriously?).When I first heard that Greece will engage in a national Final with Greek Idol and X-Factor alumni, my first thought was "really? You really want to go down that route?". Basically, I had something negative to say about every entry in this national Final. Does that make me a good Greek?So if this entry is done justice placement-wise in Eurovision, Greece's long-standing record of Top Ten placings is broken. If Greece maintains its record, they did it with a poor song. Both ways, we are screwed! Unless they revamp it to the point it is unrecognizable (just trying to stay hopeful and not too negative!).And any Greek readers here care to explain why you do not let Protopsalti loose to take Eurovision by storm? Just give her a hit and you can trust she will work it like it owes her money!-Finland

When I first found out about this victory, I could just barely accept it, as you probably noticed. Now that I have accepted that the choice has been made, now my question is: how, how, HOW, are they going to make this work?Blame for the poor execution may in part be taken by the production of the show. The Greek national Final appears to have become the laughing stock of national Finals this year, being criticized by journalists as one of the worst productions by ERT in years, with a record-low viewership. The staging, the lighting, the audience involvement, were all sub-par.Even if those did get in the way, I still think the song is an initial disappointment. While I insist that I have an open mind when it comes to the possibility of finding rap that I like, I am not known to like it, so I am not inclined to like it here, either. The sung part of it is just OK, but toward the end especially, it sounds too melodramatic. Also, I cannot tell if it was the choreography itself or the lighting, but Loukas looked strangely lost during the bridge.So how are they going to get me to like this? Is that ping-pong table there to stay? Will the mixing be changed? Kalomoira managed to make me eventually approve of her third place in Belgrade (I was not watching the show live at the time, and I watched the show in December of that year when I got the official DVD. I did not like her song at first, and could barely believe she scored so high. Seeing her live performance made me relent.), so can the Greeks manage the same trick with this one? They have their work cut out for them.-Finland